BOLIVAR, Mo. – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist football was held to 12 first downs while Southwest Baptist gained 566 yards of total offense in a 56-0 loss on the road.
Missouri Baptist (0-6) knew to expect a heavy dose of senior quarterback Willie Tindal and expectations lived-up to reality. The SBU signal-caller tossed three touchdown passes, including a 79-yard strike to Nathan Mourik in the first quarter. Tindal played nearly the entire first half, but was pulled as the game began to get out of hand shortly before halftime.
Jordan Norwine had his first start of his young career at Missouri Baptist and did not disappoint in an injury-shortened outing. The freshman from O'Fallon Christian High School finished the day 9-15 with 64 yards of passing and zero interceptions. It was a good start for Norwine until a hard hit in the second quarter knocked him out of the game.
After a punt on the first drive of the contest, MBU marched down the field on an 11-play, 56 yard drive, but was unable to come away with any points after a missed field goal by Alex McGlassion. On the very next play, it was Nathan Mourik who caught his first of two touchdowns on the day, a 79-yard reception from Tindal, to put the Bearcats up 14-0.
While Missouri Baptist was held scoreless, the team was able to put together drives down field as the Spartans controlled the time of possession throughout. As the game progressed, however, the Spartans continued to find difficulty punching it in.
One of the bright spots in the game was the phenomenal play of Spartan defensive end, Maleek Ross. The freshman out of Hazelwood West recorded 3.5 sacks in the game and four tackles for a loss.
The Spartans took a 35-0 deficit into the half, and though the team came-up with some quality drives and defensive stands, was help off the scoreboard for the final 30 minutes of the contest as well.
With the loss, Missouri Baptist will enter next weekend's game at NCAA Division I Valparaiso searching for its first win. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CST in Indiana.
